Final stone laid in £150m Trinity Square project

The final stone has been laid in the centre square of Gateshead’s £150m regeneration project.

The ceremony in the town centre of Trinity Square marked the completion of the public spaces for the project.

The town centre square features seating, planting and specially commissioned public art, Trinity Square forms the meeting point of two new pedestrian streets, Ellison Way and Bewick.

The two streets, together with Trinity Steps, link the multi-million development with the rest of central Gateshead.

The final stone in the new square was positioned by the Leader of Gateshead Council, Mick Henry, projects director at Bowmer and Kirkland Paul Dodsworth and Tesco store manager, Marc Smith.

They were joined by Northumbria University Vice Chancellor Professor Andrew Wathey and NHS Gateshead Clinical Commissioning Group Finance Director Joe Corrigan

Cllr Henry said: “This public square is going to be a fantastic space.

“The quality of the materials used is up there with the best public spaces in Britain.

“I’m sure when all the shops, cinema and restaurants are open, and the students have moved in, it’s going to be a really bustling place.

“We’re almost over the finishing line now with this project.

“This is what local people have been looking forward to for years and now there are just a few days left to wait before the doors are flung open for the first time.”

The Pennine sandstone laid was the last used to cover over 6,000 square meters of pavements, steps and planters in public areas throughout the development.

The stone comes from the same quarry, Moselden, that supplied stone to Mayfair, Whitehall, Regent Street, Oxford Street and parts of Trafalgar Square as well as a whole host of other high profile and high quality locations.

Marc Smith said: “The final piece of stone being put in place marks the completion of the public space in Trinity Square but also the beginning of an exciting new era in Gateshead’s history.

“The town will have a new retail and economic focus, a place people will not only want to shop in but relax in with their family and friends.”

The £150m Trinity Square project in the centre of Gateshead features new shops, a cinema, health centre, bars, restaurants and offices as well as a Tesco Extra store.

Trinity Square and the first stores, including Tesco Extra, are due to open to the public on May 23, the project has created around 1,000 construction jobs and it is expected that the completed scheme will employ 2,000 in retail and leisure.

The man in charge its construction, Paul Dodsworth, said: “It’s just one piece of stone being lowered into place, but it means so much more to all of us who have been working on this project.

“It’s been a large, complicated scheme and it is pleasing to see all the hard work translate into a fantastic town centre destination that the people of Gateshead will be proud of.

“Completing the final public areas is significant to our all the stake holders in the project, now we’re onto the final finishing touches before everyone can come in and see what we’ve been doing. I think they’re going to be impressed.”

Over 4,000 workers and specialist trades people have worked on the Trinity Square project and over the last 35 months, construction workers have installed enough steel to build the famous Tyne Bridge and Swing Bridge combined, laid over 7km cable, fitted 9,700 light fittings and fitted enough plaster board to stretch from Gateshead to Leeds.

When completed, the overall Trinity Square development will also include accommodation for almost 1,000 Northumbria University students, the first students are due to move in for the start of the 2014 academic year.

Professor Andrew Wathey, Vice Chancellor of Northumbria University, said: “This is a significant milestone for Trinity Square.

“When the students move into their state of the art accommodation next year they will bring an additional vibrancy that will further enhance the regeneration of the centre of Gateshead.”